walterbibikow
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The demand for Indian generic drugs has shot up in China amid the massive COVID surge in the country, with Chinese experts cautioning that fake versions of these drugs are flooding the market. China's National Health Security Administration said on Sunday that Pfizer's Paxlovid oral medication, which is used to treat Covid-19, could not be included in the "register of drugs in the basic medical insurance", because the company's quotation was too high, media reports here said.
The black market quickly moved to plug the gap. There was already a huge trade in affordable, made-in-India medication in China before the pandemic. Thousands of Chinese cancer patients rely on imports of generic drugs produced in India, as they are far more affordable than the approved drugs on sale in China.
Due to the massive short supply of Paxlovid, demand for Indian generic versions has gone up through Chinese e-commerce platforms.
"On the Chinese e-commerce platforms... At least four generic COVID drugs produced in India - Primovir, Paxista, Molnunat, and Molnatris - have been listed for sale in recent weeks. Primovir and Paxista are both generic versions of Paxlovid, while the other two are generic versions of Molnipiravir," Chinese media outlet Sixth Tone reported.
Chinese social media posts about Indian COVID drugs. From Xiaohongshu
All four drugs appear to have been approved for emergency use by the Indian authorities, but are not legal for use in China, it said.
He Xiaobing, the head of Beijing Memorial Pharmaceutical, told Sixth Tone that India was "the only country where we can source reliable and affordable COVID drugs with guaranteed therapeutic effects".
"But the strong demand was used by illegal groups who produce counterfeit drugs. This will badly affect patients' treatment," he said.
China's health system catering to 1.4 billion people is under strain especially due to the heavy costs of drug supply which were controlled by multinational pharmaceutical giants.
At one time, Indian cancer drugs have become very famous for their efficacy and affordability.
Considering their popularity, a Chinese film by the name "Dying to Survive" showing the survival of cancer patients on the banned imported Indian drugs had a successful run in China
Demand for Indian generic drugs skyrockets in China amid massive Covid surge
China's National Health Security Administration said on Sunday that Pfizer's Paxlovid oral medication, which is used to treat Covid-19, could not be included in the "register of drugs in the basic medical insurance", because the company's quotation was too high, media reports here said.
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